We Could Have Had It All
by TracyCook
Summary: Rachel Berry is going to NYU, her new roommate is Haley James from Tree Hill. They hit it off immediately. But when their friendship starts to heat up, they both grow confused. Rachel Berry/Haley James romance, with a side of Quinn Fabray/Peyton Sawyer and Baley!
1. Leave the Past Behind

We Could Have Had It All

By: TracyCook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creator of Glee and One Tree Hill.

Couple: Rachel Berry/Haley James, with slight Peyton Sawyer/Quinn Fabray, and some Brooke/Haley

Authors Note: I had someone come to my inbox and personally ask for this story, so I hope that you will enjoy it and I hope that all of you will love it! :)

Rating: M

Chapter 1

Leave the Past Behind

Haley smiled proudly to herself, setting the bag on the ground beside her small bed before sitting on it and pulling out her list. She crossed off a few of the items on the list before rereading the school supplies that she still had left to buy. Most people dreaded going back to school. Her friends would all procrastinate until the last minute on setting up their schedules and buying their supplies, but it was Haley's favorite part of the year.

In high school, she had lived with Brooke Davis who had teased her for this obsession, often informing her that she was a nerd.

She just loved it. New pens, new pencils, new books, a new backpack.

Of course this year was a bit different. In ways it was more exciting, she was on her own in the great city of New York and following her dreams, but in ways it was terrifying. She was miles away from most of her closest friends, living on her own, starting a career that she could fail at, and she felt like a complete outsider. The city was fast and the people walked by her without a care in the world. Most of them did not even notice her. She wasn't used to that coming from the small town of Tree Hill.

She called her friends, but it wasn't the same. She missed them. Nathan, Brooke, Lucas, and Peyton, she missed them all. Four years ago when she was starting high school she would have never expected to get so close to so many people, especially the people that had teased her for the majority of high school, but they had become her best friends and she didn't know how she was going to survive starting a new life without them.

"They will still visit…" Haley reminded herself aloud as she started to doodle on the side of the paper, lost in her thoughts.

Haley stopped doodling momentarily in order to look around her dorm room. She had arrived in New York a week prior in order to get prepared for her classes and moved into her room. She had also hoped to meet her roommate in order to see if they were compatible or if she needed to talk to someone about changing dorms. She wondered if they would get along, if they had similar majors or hobbies, if they had anything in common at all.

She had asked her seven siblings, parents, and friends what college was like and they had filled her in on all of the horror stories. It scared her to death.

The last thing that she wanted was to be put in the same room with a drug addict, a thief, a serial-killer, a sexual deviant that always brought home men and had sex with them in front of her keeping her up all night and not allowing her to get a healthy eight hours of sleep, or even just someone that partied all of the time and never let her have silence in order to study or do her homework. _'Although, I don't think that anyone will party more than Brooke Davis and we got along well living together… so who knows…?'_

School started tomorrow and she did not know anything about her roommate.

All that she knew was that her name was Rachel Berry.

Haley wished that her family could have afforded a single dormitory. They just couldn't, and despite her scholarships, NYU was still a very expensive college. She felt too guilty to ask for more than they could afford. She just did not feel comfortable with sharing her space, especially such a tiny space.

Glancing to the alarm clock beside her bed, she wondered about where Rachel was. Did she plan to actually show up? Was she changing her room? Was she going to skip the first day of class?

O

This morning Rachel Berry had woken up knowing exactly who she was and what she wanted out of life. She was going to marry Finn Hudson and spend the rest of her life with him. He had told her that she needed to concentrate on his dreams and so she was going to attempt to do so. No more being selfish, no more over ambition, no more Rachel Berry.

She should have realized then and there that this attitude was not a healthy one, but she didn't.

It wasn't until he practically forced her onto a train to New York and told her that she needed to follow her dreams. Even then she had begged him to go with her, to let her go with him; she had belittled herself and pleaded with him to stay with her. She had never felt so low and on the train ride to New York as the tears stained her cheeks and her makeup smeared across her face she realized just how pathetic she was being.

She was Rachel Berry.

The strongest most talented woman that she knew and it was her dream to sing on Broadway and be a star, and Finn was right. She needed to pursue that dream and he needed to pursue his dream. They could still date long-distance and then when the time was right they could get back together. If they were meant to be then they would be.

Rachel believed that they were meant to be.

She had never loved anyone the way that she loved Finn.

They had promised to keep in touch. She was going to NYU to study musical theatre and he was going into the military, which she wasn't all too happy about. She did not like the idea of him risking his life on a daily basis. It terrified her.

Rachel had just arrived at the dormitory where she would be staying. She did not know who her roommate was going to be or what to expect of her personality, but she was excited to meet her. She was excited for the entire college experience. This is what she had been waiting for her entire life. A chance to make her big dreams come true in her favorite city on the planet. Retrieving her key she headed up the stairs to the room numbered 218 and unlocked the door before walking inside.

Large brown eyes immediately started to scan the surroundings. The first thing that she noticed was the giant Sheryl Crow poster on the wall, a medium sized television with a few horror movies and romantic comedies stacked up beside it, a coffee machine, and CD's of all sorts lined up in alphabetical order. There were some plain blue sheets on the mattress that her roommate had obviously deemed her side of the room and an acoustic guitar propped up against the side of the bed.

'_Perhaps she is a singer…' _Rachel concluded her full lips twisting into a smile that spread across her face. That would be the ultimate roommate. Someone who loved music as much as she herself. _'Although, Sheryl Crow is hardly Barbra Streisand… We will simply have to work on her taste.' _

Her head snapped toward the bathroom as she noticed that the shower was on. Her roommate was probably preparing for classes in the morning. She would have to take a shower shortly after her. For now she needed to 'mark' her territory, so to speak. She wanted to show off her interests and make herself at home.

Rachel had been in a rush so she had not packed all that much. Unpacking her clothing she started to hang up her argyle sweaters and some of her skirts, lining up her shoes at the bottom of the closet they provided for her. She covered her bed in a big pink fluffy blanket with hearts all over it, and matching heart pillows, and pulled out the few movies that she had brought with her. All of them being musicals, Funny Girl going on top of course.

Glancing to her roommate's side of the room she realized that her side had a lot less personality. She would just have to fix that as the weeks went by though. Rachel Berry was not one to be bested.

Rachel was snapped out of her contemplation as she heard the bathroom door open and turned quickly to see the woman that would be living with her for the duration of the semester. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight. The other woman was lovely. She had large brown eyes and long brown hair that was wet and dripping. She was almost as short as she was, and she was tiny. It was adorable.

Rachel pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched the water roll down the beautiful woman's cheeks and drip down into her visible collarbone. Her heart was racing and her skin felt hot all of a sudden as she trailed her eyes down over her tank top that was clinging to her body in all of the right places. Her nipples were hard and her midriff was showing, along with her legs due to the shorts she was wearing.

'_Oh god, what is wrong with you Rachel Barbra Berry! Snap out of it! She probably thinks you are either crazy or you are a pervert! And you definitely are not a pervert! So stop acting like it. You've seen girls clothed in such a manner before.'_

"Uh, hey. You must be Rachel." Haley said as she took a towel to her hair and continued to dry it. A light blush painting over her cheeks as she made her way to the mirrors and opened a drawer pulling out her brush so that she could brush her hair. She had honestly expected Rachel not to show up.

Haley could feel the other woman's eyes on her and she glanced up into the mirror to see that she was still staring at her with a hunger in her eyes, it was intimidating and caused her to blush some more.

Rachel quickly apologized for her strange behavior. She had never acted in such a way around girls, only around Finn. "Oh, yes. My name is Rachel Barbra Berry, and you are?" She moved toward the other.

"I'm Haley." She stated with a shrug of her shoulders as she pulled out her toothbrush and started to apply toothpaste.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance Haley. I see that you have a guitar and a poster of Sheryl Crow. I do hope that this means that you are majoring in something revolving around music?" She pried curiously.

"No, actually I am going into business." It had been Karen's idea. She had told her that if she did not want to be a teacher and she was not confident enough in her music than business would be a safe bet. Haley envied Rachel for being confident enough in her singing abilities to go into such a terrifying career. She could not handle it. She had immense stage-fight and truthfully she did not think that she was a good enough singer.

Rachel looked perplexed by the admittance and Haley found herself watching the other woman's face and finding it oddly adorable how she reacted. Her eyebrows were knit together and her lips were parted, eyes filled with confusion. She hastily regained her composure. "Oh, I see. I apologize for the assumption. Although, I do assume that it is safe to say that you in the very least enjoy music, correct?" _'Why else would she have a guitar… That would be odd.'_

"Yes, I enjoy it. I just don't think that I am very good at it."

Rachel understood. Haley loved music, but she was not confident in her singing. It sort of reminded her of her best friend back home, Quinn Fabray. She had a beautiful voice and it had grown so much over the years, yet she still lacked confidence in it. She bet that Haley had a wonderful voice as well.

"I see. I bet that you are better than you know, Haley. So you know, I am a very talented and self-confident singer. I have been singing and dancing since the age of two and I will be a star someday and I would love to give you vocal lessons sometime if you would allow me to. Free of charge of course." She added in a matter-of-fact tone, hoping that her self-confidence and over ambitious nature would not scare off the beautiful woman like it scared off everyone else. People just didn't like her upon meeting her.

Haley laughed a little and shook her head at Rachel. _'She is really cute…' _She did not want to agree to the vocal lessons because she did not feel comfortable singing in front of the other woman, but she also did not wish to turn her down.

"I'll consider it."

"I do hope that you will." Rachel said with a nod of her head as she walked back toward her suitcase and pulled out some pink pajama shorts and a tank top. She loved pink.

'_Gross… I hate pink…' _Haley thought as she watched the other woman grab her clothes and noticed that her bed was a mess of the disgusting color. Still, she was endeared by Rachel Berry. She could already tell that she was going to make NYU an interesting adventure.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I need to do my nightly ritual. Also, I hope that you do not mind, but I will require my allotted eight hours of beauty sleep every evening, so please do keep the partying to a minimal." With that she skipped toward the bathroom leaving Haley standing there with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth and a smile on her lips. _'She has to get eight hours of sleep a night too?'_

Rachel Berry seemed like she was going to be the perfect roommate for Haley James.

O

Authors Note:

This was requested by one of my wonderful readers, so I figured that I would give it a go! I love the idea; I just hope that I can execute it well. Please do tell me what y'all think and if you want me to continue with this story!

I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook


	2. Uniquely Beautiful

We Could Have Had It All

By: TracyCook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creator of Glee and One Tree Hill.

Couple: Rachel Berry/Haley James, with slight Peyton Sawyer/Quinn Fabray, and some Brooke/Haley

Authors Note: I had someone come to my inbox and personally ask for this story, so I hope that you will enjoy it and I hope that all of you will love it! :)

Rating: M

Chapter 2

Uniquely Beautiful

Rachel sat in the front row in the choir room. She had her binder of music in her lap and she was intently focused on the instructor who was speaking with them about their first assignment. They would be singing a Broadway classic of their choosing. The catch was that they did not get a day to prepare; they were to simply choose the song and go with it today.

Luckily, she always had her go-to song _'Don't Rain on My Parade' _It was her favorite song and she had been singing it since the age of two, so she knew that she would not fail.

"You nervous?" A young man sitting beside her asked.

Rachel glanced over at him and offered him a full-lipped smile as she shook her head. "Not at all. I already know which song I plan to sing and I am certain that I will do exceptionally well." She informed him, lifting her chin up confidently.

"I'm sure you'll do great." He said with a charming smile before refocusing his attention on the teacher.

Rachel thanked the other student, telling him that she knew that she would do great and wishing him luck as she too looked back to the teacher. She was giving them an order to perform their songs and she told them that they only had five minutes to choose which song they were going to perform. She was assigned to go third after a man named Brody. It was not an ideal spot to be in. As a performer you always wanted to either go first or last to leave a lasting impression in the minds of the audience, but she accepted that she would just have to be better than everyone else.

It would not be that difficult.

The first performer choked in front of the teacher and she literally got kicked out of the class, this caused Rachel to start to feel the anxiety. She was used to being the best, but she was only the best in Lima Ohio. This was New York City and the first performer had been decent.

'_I really hope that she does not kick me out of the class… I don't know what I will do…'_

When the next student, Brody, was called up to sing the boy next to her stood up and walked to the front of the class. _'So he is Brody?' _She wondered as she listened to the song that he had chosen and watched him perform it. He had a beautiful voice and he sang perfectly, not to mention now that she was actually looking at him and not blinded by her own ambition, she realized that he was quite attractive.

The teacher seemed to like his performance because she told him to take a seat and allowed him to finish the song unlike with the first person.

She still did not compliment him though.

"Good luck." Brody told her when her name was called by the instructor. Rachel smiled weakly as she stood to her feet and headed to the front of the room. Her heart was racing and she worried that it would mess up her breathing during the song, along with this her body was shaking and she felt sick to her stomach. _'Control yourself Rachel… this is your chance… just close your eyes and breathe… if you think too much you will destroy yourself.'_

"I am Rachel Berry and I will be singing Don't Rain on My Parade." She announced to the class before allowing her large brown eyes to close and taking in a few even breathes to calm her nerves. She imagined that she was back in Lima Ohio performing in front of the glee club and not in front of the person who controlled her future.

The music started playing and all that Rachel could hear was her heart beating loudly, but she tried to focus on the song and allow her natural talent and knowledge of the song to come through. When it hit her cue to start singing she opened her mouth and the words fell effortlessly. Within a few seconds she was singing the song with as much power and pride as she was accustomed to. She knew that she was doing an amazing job.

As the song came to an end she stretched the final note to its completion and then took in a breath before opening her eyes and staring at the instructor. She felt confident in her performance. There was no way that the teacher would insult her or kick her out of the class.

"That was a good performance, Rachel." The instructor said, causing her eyes to brighten with excitement. She had yet to complement any of the other students. Her excitement died quickly though as she heard the next question. "But, do you really think that you have the look for this industry?"

Rachel's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What do you mean the look for this industry? What are you implying exactly?"

"That you may not be pretty enough."

She felt like she was going to cry when her teacher told her that she was not pretty enough to be in the entertainment industry, it was almost worse than having her talent insulted. In a way she was insulting her talent. Saying that it would not be enough.

"Look Rachel, you are a very talented girl. Perhaps the most talented in this room at the moment, but people want to look up to a star. They want to go and see someone that they find attractive. Have you considered getting a nose job?" She asked it as if it were the most common question. Honestly, Rachel had considered it in high school when Finn broke her nose, but she decided then and there that her unique qualities were what made her beautiful.

"I considered it at one point."

"Good, I think that it would help you—"

"—I decided against getting a nose job then and I refuse to do so now. I may not be the most beautiful woman in New York City, and I accept that, but I love my nose. It is a part of who I am and it makes me unique. That in and of itself makes me beautiful. I do not wish to look like everyone else."

"I see. Take a seat." The instructor said and Rachel did as she was told, still holding her chin up high as if the words hadn't completely crushed her. It hurt her feelings, but she refused to show her that. Years or torture and torment had taught her how to deal with bullies. If you gave them the gratification of knowing that they had hurt you then it only made it worse. Besides, she had still allowed her to stay in her class and that was what was important.

O

Haley pulled out the keys to her dorm room and unlocked the door before making her way inside and dropping her shoulder bag next to her bed. It was heavy because she did not have a break between her classes and was forced to carry all of her books around the campus the entire day, so her back was sore and she felt exhausted.

Despite wanting to rest, she had things that she knew she needed to do.

Opening the bag, she pulled out one of her many color-coded notebooks and opened it as she sat Indian style on the bed and pulled out a pen. She had made a list of supplies that her instructors told her she still needed to get while in her classes and now she planned on rewriting it. She started to rewrite the list using the references from class syllabuses, but shortly after she began writing her mind started to wander.

Haley cast her eyes to the opposite side of the room and her face scrunched up in disgust as she once again witnessed the pink mess that was Rachel Berry's side. She really hated the color pink. Yet, she did not mind so much that Rachel was obsessed with the color, it was actually kind of cute.

In general the other woman was sort of cute.

She was overly ambitious and sort of obsessed with her career. She struck Haley as the type of person that would do almost anything to get to where she wanted to be in life. It was admirable and a little terrifying. She was just glad that she was not a music major, competing with the other woman would be nearly impossible.

The door to their room opened abruptly and caused Haley to let out a squeak and jump in surprise as she turned and looked up at Rachel from her bed. She felt ashamed and embarrassed for thinking about the star in such depth and a blush painted over her cheeks, but all embarrassment was wiped away as she saw the expression on the beautiful woman's face. Rachel's brown eyes were watery and there were mascara tears staining her cheeks.

Just as Haley was about to ask what was wrong, Rachel escaped into the bathroom.

Her school supplies no longer seemed important as she stared at the bathroom door and chewed on her bottom lip. She wondered why Rachel had been crying. Had her classes not gone as expected? Or was it someone from back home, maybe a tragic accident or a fight with a boyfriend? She didn't really know that much about the other woman's past.

'_I hope that she is okay…' _She would not admit it to herself but for some odd reason she also hoped that she didn't have a boyfriend.

Rachel came out of the bathroom looking far more presentable. She had cleaned off her face and had given herself a pep-talk, reminding herself that she was still the most talented person in the room according to her teacher.

Haley watched as Rachel walked over to her bed and sat down on it, opening up a binder that was covered in gold stars. It seemed to be her thing she had noticed. She had gold stars on many of her accessories. There was paper inside of the binder and the business major wondered what the papers were. If they were for a class or if they were something personal. She did not know if it was her place to ask.

A few minutes of silence passed and Haley could not take it any longer. She needed to talk to Rachel and find out what had caused her such duress.

Pushing herself out of her bed she walked across the room and sat down on the side of Rachel's bed. The diva quickly looked up at her and caught her eyes with her own. "What's up?" Haley asked simply, knowing that she would know what she was talking about. When Rachel did not answer she pressed further, "Did something happen in your classes?"

Sucking in a breath she nodded her head. "Yes, something happened in one of my classes."

"Rachel, what is it? What happened?" Haley asked, reaching over and placing a hand over Rachel's. She tried not to focus on how nice it felt in her own or how soft her skin was. _'What is wrong with me…?'_

"One of my instructors informed me that I was extremely talented, but I was not beautiful enough to be in the entertainment industry."

Haley's eyes hardened at this and she immediately grew defensive. Rachel was one of the most beautiful women that she had ever met. Was she beautiful according to the social normative, probably not. She did not have blonde hair, blue eyes, fake tan skin, she was not tall or well endowed, but she was gorgeous. She had a quality that was unique to her that made her look like no one that she had ever met. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and they flashed with every single emotion.

"Your teacher sounds like a nutcase to me, or maybe she is blind."

"Thank you, Haley, but you do not need to attempt to cheer me up. I am well-aware of my lack of beauty. People ridiculed me all through high school for such things."

Haley squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "I am not attempting to cheer you up, Rachel. Though I do hope that my words cheer you up. I am just telling you the truth. I think that you are absolutely gorgeous."

Rachel gave her a look of disbelief and she sighed.

"You are. Seriously. I wouldn't lie to you. You are unique and interesting and that is what makes you so beautiful, that you are different from everyone else in the entertainment industry."

A blush covered Rachel's naturally tan cheeks and she looked down at their connected hands, ignoring how comfortable she felt holding Haley's hand, how comforting and natural the contact was between the two of them. She did not want to dwell on that because it would lead to confusion. "Thank you." She whispered out softly.

Things grew awkward and shy between the two of them as they both thought about what had just transpired between them. They were embarrassed and did not know what to say.

Finally, Haley asked, "Do you wanna watch a movie or something?" She recalled that the other woman was as driven as she was and suddenly worried that she would be encroaching on her time and added, "I mean, as long as you don't have any homework."

"I don't have any homework, and I would love to watch a movie."

O

Authors Note:

Here is another chapter for this fanfic! I hope that y'all enjoy reading it. The next chapter will have some more romantic type feelings and flashbacks as well as conversation and fluffy-ness! Please do tell me what you guys think! I love hearing from you all, you keep me inspired to keep writing!

Thank you for reading! :)

-Tracy Cook


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